Chef discloses details on fire that damaged hip Heights restaurant

Chef discloses details on fire that damaged hip Heights restaurant

Fire fighters quickly extinguished the blaze.Photo by A CultureMap Reader

The fire damaged part of the restaurant's interior.Photo by A CultureMap Reader

Presidio restaurant will be closed for the foreseeable future after suffering a fire early morning on Saturday, October 27. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Chef-owner Adam Dorris tells CultureMap that fire fighters traced the problem to an electrical outlet near the restaurant's entrance. As a result, damage appears to be confined to a relatively small part of the dining room, the HVAC system, and the roof. Dorris credited the Houston Fire Department for a speedy response that saved the kitchen and the rest of the structure.

The full extent of the damage and a timeline for reopening will be more clear once an insurance adjuster inspects the property on Monday, October 29, Dorris added. On Saturday afternoon, workers had already begun to patch the holes in the roof that fire fighters cut to stop the flames.

In the meantime, Houston's restaurant community has already begun to rally around Presidio and its staff. Eight Row Flint served four of Presidio dishes Saturday night with proceeds benefitting the restaurant's hourly employees (and will do so again Sunday, October 28 beginning at 4 pm). Dorris expects to hold pop-ups at places like Ladybird's, Grand Prize, and other bars to raise additional funds. Plans are coming together for a collaboration dinner with the chefs from Eunice, the recently-opened Cajun-Creole brasserie near Greenway Plaza.

A fire last year at Southern Goods ultimately led to that restaurant's permanent closure. With less apparent physical damage and the support of its peers, Presidio appears poised not to suffer the same fate.